Neutral Witnesses

By Kota Neelima

‘upadrasta anumanta chah bharta bhokta mahesvarah’- Bhagavad Gita
(a witness that gives permission, the one that supports, experiences and is the lord of all.)

‘sakshi cheta kevalo nirgunas chah’ – Upanishads (the witness, the only one that knows, the one without attributes) August 2009, New Delhi

They have seen it being broken and built a thousand times, The neutral witnesses of life, living and death

They are mind within mind, thought within thought, Cause for trickle of plasma, cause for shift of ocean Reason for falling eyelash, reason for falling star They are at the first step, they are the first step, They are in need of rescue, they are the rescue

They are the muscle torn by knife, they are the knife, They are the thought before words, they are the thought after

They are neither friends, nor foe They look like us, like them. Like no one we know

The immortal cells that have made a million brains think The immortal bones that have caged a million hearts They keep the secret of time, they keep time

They carry no baggage of memory, no colour of emotion No poetry of existence They are free of mediocrity, free of excellence Should fire burn them, the bones smell of wood, The skin smells of promises, The ashes feel like dew, the dust feels like wind

Should we look for them outside in the forest, Or in the forest within Should we search for them between breaths or after

It is easy to miss them, they look like trees among trees, Paths among paths, And, waters among waters They look like gods among gods, Saints among saints, And, sinners among sinners

Indifferent to all that they are part of, Untouched by all that they witness They know the truth of all truths

The truth about why rain tastes like forgiveness Or why blood tastes of predestination The truth that memory does not end with death And that time is not our creation

Ask for those who keep time for eternity, Lets find where their loyalties lie For whom they turn the fresh leaves of history These neutral witnesses of time

‘na tvevaham jatu nasam na tvam neme janadhipaha na chaiva na bhavisyamaha sarve vayamataha param’– Bhagavad Gita
(Never was there a time when I was not, nor you, nor these lords of men, nor will there be a time hereafter when we all shall cease to be)